J. C. Prolla - Cytopathology Tzanck test Varicella

Drs. Prolla and Diehl's INTERESTING CASE OF THE MONTH August 2004
Tzanck test, hundreds of lesions in stages of papules, vesicles, pustules, and crusts, skin 2 1/2-year old boy.
Varicella

Varicella, commonly known in the United States as chickenpox, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a member of the human herpesvirus subfamily. An otherwise healthy child usually has 250-500 lesions but may have as few as 10 or as many as 1500. Each lesion starts as a red macule and passes through stages of papule, vesicle, pustule, and crust.
A Tzanck smear involves scraping the base of the lesions, then staining the scrapings to demonstrate multinucleated giant cells, and similar to the findings in herpesvirus lesions, as seen in this case. This finding, however, is not sufficiently sensitive or specific for varicella and should be replaced by the more specific immunohistochemical staining of such scrapings, if available. However, as the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA), was positive, this was deemed not necessary.

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Drs. Prolla and Diehl's INTERESTING CASE OF THE MONTH August 2004Tzanck test, hundreds of lesions in stages of papules, vesicles, pustules, and crusts, skin 2 1/2-year old boy.Varicella

Drs. Prolla and Diehl's INTERESTING CASE OF THE MONTH August 2004
Tzanck test, hundreds of lesions in stages of papules, vesicles, pustules, and crusts, skin 2 1/2-year old boy.
Varicella